Day 84: Soap, milk

That’s what I bought. When you go to the grocery store for no particular reason – other than to find someone to pray for – ideas start running through your mind about what to buy. I settled on milk, because our family of six always could use milk, and soap, because it was the one other legitimate need I could think of.

It was about 9 p.m., and Leeker’s Family Foods was almost devoid of customers. For customers, there were two guys there, probably a father and son, buying an assortment of groceries. They spent a lot of time in the detergent aisle. At one point, I saw them holding the cap of one bottle in their hands, apparently checking the smell. Also in the store was a guy who’d just gotten a ticket. I’d seen him pulled over in the parking lot, the flashing lights of the Park City Police Department behind him.

And then there were the employees, at least four of them. I prayed for the woman who checked me out of the store. She was about 45 and chewing gum. Her tag said her name was Renea. And she willingly accepted my invitation for a prayer. I prayed for God’s blessing as she finished out her evening of work. She thanked me, and I left, milk and soap in hand.

Day 83: A Happy Meal

Sam and I had some time to ourselves this evening. It was movie night at the school, which basically involved all the females of our house. So it was guy time. The place to go with a 2-year-old boy and nothing better to do? McDonald’s.

We ordered a happy meal. I’d had my eye on the guy delivering the food from the kitchen to the front counter. His tag said his name was Michael, the manager. So when he carefully packaged up the McNuggets, apples and random toy, handing it to me, I pulled him to the side.

“Can I pray for you?” I asked. He was probably 20 years old. He smiled, a bit uncomfortably, and said grudgingly that I could. When I told him I wanted to do it there on the spot, he squirmed a little more but didn’t flat-out say no. So I took that as a yes, and prayed that God would bless him as he led his team that night. He thanked me, and I grabbed Sam’s hand. (He’d been trying to do chin-ups at the counter during this time, trying to see over the top.)

We headed for the car with our happy meal box.

Day 82: The plumber

He was loading several bags of groceries into the back of a work van that declared he was a plumber, or at least worked for a plumbing company. He was wearing an orange hoodie and a ballcap. I stopped next to him and asked if I could pray for him.

He let out a little sigh. He was about 30 years old, maybe, and seemed fairly disgusted by it. "Why?" he asked. I told him my story about asking someone every day. He dropped a six pack of pop into the van and reached to shut the back door and said that OK, I could pray for him.

But when I asked if I could pray right then, he promptly said no and slammed the door, leaving me there. I prayed for him as I drove home.

Day 81: Walking slowly

I saw him shuffle out of the grocery store, holding a cane, and stop to lean against some metal posts there by the entrance. He wasn't looking at much in particular, just resting. Then he started to move slowly toward his car. His was parked in the closest handicapped stall. He was so slow that I was able to move my car to a closer spot before getting out to talk to him.

The man was in his 70s, with white hair and a white beard. Until now, he probably would have been considered a big man, with wide shoulders and powerful arms. But age had taken root, and his days of mobility appeared to be about over. He was holding a single plastic bag, full of bananas, and was getting ready to put them into the back of the car when I reached him.

"Hello, sir," I said. He turned slightly toward me but kept rearranging a single file box and a single newspaper in the back of his car. "What can I do for you?" he asked in a deep old voice. I told him I wanted to pray for him. He didn't look at me this time. "I already did that myself," he said gruffly. "Well," I replied, "I'd like to offer you a prayer as well today." He kept moving things around in his trunk. "You can do whatever you want," he said, "it's a free country." I'd heard that before and was glad for it, but he clearly didn't want me around, so I offered him an out. "Well do you want me to pray for you right now or do you want me to leave you alone?" To this, he was clear. He mumbled a few words I couldn't understand and then said "Leave me alone."

He still hadn't put his bananas in his car when I turned from him. I prayed when I left that God would restore health to his legs in such away that there would be no mistaking to him or others about what the Healer had done.

Day 80: A clear head

At some point, the sickness eventually will clear away, and today it started to do that for me. It was like a fog lifting out of my head, and I started thinking more clearly and getting my motivation back. Since Friday, I've been practically sleep-walking through life. Today, it got better, and it was a wonderful feeling. I'd been having all sorts of negative feelings, wanting to quit this project and everything else I'm doing. I finally seemed to snap out of it.

So I walked through Old Town on a cool night and ran into a guy wearing a sweater that had a company name, Airgas, on it. He was in his 60s, with white hair, and he struck me as maybe an executive.

He immediately said I could pray for him right there in the street, and so I did. Then he pulled his hand out of his pocket and shook mine, smiling broadly and thanking me.

Day 79: The poll worker

I did my constitutional duty today and was surprised by the long lines for the voting machines. I could have been in and out of there in 15 minutes if I'd gone for the paper ballots. But the voting machines, to me, are still kind of novel. So I wanted to wait.

I also wanted to pray for the guy who logged me into the machine. So I waited, wondering which one I'd get and hoping it would be out of earshot of other voters. You never know what the response will be. 

On my turn, I was directed to a machine in the far corner, surrounded by three others. I thought at first this was probably a pretty good spot for my project. But as I was back there with the poll worker, I was struck by how silent it was. A woman was voting right next to me, and on the other side was an entire family, kids and all.

The poll worker was a friendly guy in his 50s who joked about how busy it was and how little help he seemed to have. He quickly recited a list of instructions to make sure I knew what I was doing, and then he started to walk away. I stopped him with my question.

He just looked at me once and said matter-of-factly, "You can do whatever you want." Then I was staring at his back as he walked back across the gymnasium to pick up another voter. So I prayed for him at roughly the same time as I dutifully voted against all the judges on the ballot.

Day 78: Soul patch

He was pulling a pallet through Walmart. I'm not sure what was on it, but it took him a few paces to slow it to a stop when I greeted him. He stepped to the side, and I asked him my question.

He seemed interested by it. He was a younger guy, no older than 25. He had longer hair and a soul patch. He said I could pray for him, and so I did. Then he pulled off his glove and shook my hand, asking me my name. 

We chatted for a moment longer, and I asked if he had anything specific he'd like me to pray about. He thought about it for a little while but couldn't really think of anything. But he thanked me again as I left.